Official Blog Tour Stop

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Welcome to Read What I Like’s stop on the blog tour for Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones!  I’m so excited to be participating in the buzz surrounding the release of the last book in the Charley Davidson series!  I have a long, but fun post planned for you all, it will be broken down into several sections starting with book and author info followed by a joint review of the first and last book in the series.  Up next is some fun facts about the series provided by Ms. Jones herself and last but certainly not least a link to a giveaway where you can win the complete series!!!

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Book Info

Book Genre:  Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Book Series: #13 Charley Davidson Series

Released: 1/15/2019 by St. Martin’s Press

Pages:312   Price: $27.99 Hardcover

Links:  Goodreads, Buy the Book, SMP Romance Twitter, SMP Romance Website

 

 

 

 

Book Synopsis:

Grim Reaper Charley Davidson is back in the final installment of Darynda Jones’ New York Times bestselling paranormal series! 

Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper extraordinaire, is pissed. She’s been kicked off the earthly plane for eternity—which is exactly the amount of time it takes to make a person stark, raving mad. But someone’s looking out for her, and she’s allowed to return after a mere hundred years in exile. Is it too much to hope for that not much has changed? Apparently, it is. Bummer.  She’s missed her daughter. She’s missed Reyes. She’s missed Cookie and Garrett and Uncle Bob. Now that she’s back on earth, it’s time to put to rest burning questions that need answers. What happened to her mother? How did she really die? Who killed her? And are cupcakes or coffee the best medicine for a broken heart? It all comes to a head in an epic showdown between good and evil in this final smart and hilarious novel.

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author DARYNDA JONES won a Golden Heart and a RITA for her manuscript First Grave on the Right. A born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. Darynda lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.

Darynda’s Social Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Pinterest

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First Grave on the Right &

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave Joint Review

When they asked me to be a part of the blog tour the publishers asked that participants review their favorite book in the series along with the last book.  Many of my followers might know that I already reread the entire series this year in preparation for this release so I wasn’t sure which book I wanted to read again.  I settled on the first book which I actually read after finishing the thirteenth.  I wanted to absorb the end before going back to the beginning with fresh eyes to see if my opinion of it change or what clues I might have missed now knowing how everything plays out.  If you are looking for clues as to what happens in the last book I’m sorry but this review is going to be a disappointment for you.  I do not want to spoil one second of your enjoyment of the last book.  Believe me, this hurts me as much as you as I am dying to talk to someone about what all went down in the last book! I will probably post a spoiler review on the blog after the book releases in January so keep an eye out for that.

When I think about the two books that start and finish this amazing series I am delighted to see how much of what I loved about that first book carries through until the last book.  The humor and camaraderie between the characters that is the backbone to this series stick with it until the end.  As does the more somber moments that leave me in tears weeping over my nook and reaching for tissues.  This series would take us on a rollercoaster ride in each book and leave us clamoring for more.  Which makes me so sad to know that Summoned to Thirteenth Grave is the last ride we get to take with Charley and Reyes and it was just as thrilling as the first!

That doesn’t mean Charley hasn’t grown as a character over the years, because she has.  She is so much stronger than I think she could have ever believed herself to be in the last book, this last battle.  Charley has truly come into her own in this book and it was quite the sight to see!  Charley started out as almost a goofy character that was a bit awkward at times and struggling to live with this unique ability or role she was given. Simply trying to understand it all and live as normal a life that she could.  By the end though, she is a force to be reckoned with and I can’t wait until you can read all about it.

Then there is Reyes, oh sure he is what we all secretly long for in a book boyfriend but I feel his has probably transformed the most out of anyone in the entire series.  When I read how he started out and then to see where he finished.  I was simply amazed.  They truly are a perfect match and complete each other beautifully.

But what about the supporting characters? You might ask.  What happens to them?  Most everyone that started the book finishes the books, there were just a few that we lost along the way.  I promised that I wouldn’t spoil anything but you are in for a couple of surprises in the last book.  Nope, not going to say more than that I was just as sad to say goodbye to all of them as I was to Charley and Reyes.  I simply don’t want to give any of them up.

But we must, all good things must come to an end and this was a pretty awesome ending in my opinion.  I look forward to reading this series, this adventure many times over the years.  When I know I need to laugh, or cry, or simply some really good smut!  I know that Charley, Reyes, Cookie, Ubie, and all of them are there waiting for me.  I might know how the story ends now but I will never stop loving the ride!

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Series Fun Facts!

• First Grave on the Right: The concept for First Grave came about while Darynda was working as a sign language interpreter in her hometown. She stole many of the names from students at the schools where she worked, including Reyes, Garrett, and Amber. As far asDarynda knows, they have all forgiven her for her thievery.
• Second Grave on the Left: Uncle Bob is a combination of two people: Darynda’s oldest brother, Luther, and the principal at the high school where she worked for several years.
• Third Grave Dead Ahead: This was originally titled Third Grave Straight Ahead, but Darynda’s web designer, Liz Bemis, asked her to change the name to Dead Ahead. Firstly, it fit the content better, and secondly, Liz got tired of spelling the word Straight wrong while updating the website. Dead is much easier to type.
• Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet: Quentin Rutherford makes his first appearance in this book. While his first name was stolen from Darynda’s little brother and his last name stolen from yet another Jr. High student, Quentin is physically sculpted from her oldest son, Jerrdan, a bona fide blond-haired, blue-eyed devil with a sparkling smile that melts even the staunchest of hearts. And, like Quentin Rutherford, he was born Deaf. Not that he let it stop him for a second.
• Fifth Grave Past the Light: This book was fun to write! Darynda was trying to come up with something truly creepy to throw into the book, and she figured what would be creepier than having an apartment full of departed women crawling up the walls, skittering across the ceiling, and huddling in the corners? Also, it is one of the hotter books, so that was fun, too. Because, you know, Reyes.
• Sixth Grave on the Edge: Darynda really wanted to open this one on a humorous note. She wanted to have Charley on a stakeout with a departed elderly man, who also happens to be naked, riding shotgun. Which begs the question: Are we really stuck in (or out of) whatever we are wearing when we die for all eternity? ‘Cause that would suck.
• Seventh Grave and No Body: Osh’ekiel was originally supposed to be in one book only. And he was supposed to be a very bad guy. But Darynda fell in love with him while writing the book and decided to redeem him and give him a bigger role. Just how big his role would become didn’t come to Darynda until plotting Eighth Grave. He has been one of her favorite characters since she wrote that first scene with him.
• Eighth Grave After Dark: Darynda wanted to really turn the tables on Charley and force her to have to stay in one place, thus the sacred ground of the convent came into play. It was fun and challenging to write a “locked room” mystery, so to speak, but that’s why she loves writing so much.
• The Dirt on Ninth Grave: One of Darynda’s favorite books in the series, she looked forward to writing this book ever since she came up with the concept while plotting Sixth Grave. Part of what makes a romance so fun is the falling-in-love part, and she wanted Charley to fall in love with Reyes all over again. This book was doubly fun because the audience knows all the characters’ backstories, and they get to watch in anticipation as Charley slowly unravels the mysteries of her past while seeing her fall head-over-heels for the same guy all over again.
• The Curse of Tenth Grave: This book had one of those too-close-for-comfort calls. Right before Tenth Grave went to print, after going through editors and copyeditors and readers of all shapes and sizes, a savvy proofreader let Darynda in on a little secret: A Sherpa is part of a culture, not an occupation. Thanks to this razor-sharp reader, Darynda narrowly escaped insulting an entire culture in one fell swoop. Aka, her worst nightmare. Her gratitude is unending.
• Eleventh Grave in Moonlight: Darynda dreamed of going to Scotland for so long, she finally decided to just put it in one of her books. She had Charley accidentally materialize in the magical country, only to find out weeks after finishing the book that she would finally get to go there herself. In person. For realsies. It was even more magical than she’d imagined it would be, and she can’t wait to go back.
• The Trouble with Twelfth Grave: This book has one of Darynda’s favorite epiphanies EVER!!! She thought, what if someone out there in the universe, a child perhaps, knows everything about Reyes and Charley? Everything starting from their supernatural heritage to their human identities? And what if that person wrote a book about them? Or a series of books? Say, perhaps, a set of children’s books and Garrett just happens to stumble upon them while doing research? How fun would that be? And the international bestselling children’s book (fictionally speaking) The First Star was born.
• Summoned to Thirteenth Grave: By far the hardest story in the series to write, penning the last Charley book was a bittersweet experience. But Darynda knew she had to go big or go home, so what better way to go out with a bang than to end the world as we know it by starting the zombie apocalypse? Because that’s what writers do. We start apocalypses.

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Giveaway Info!

Enter for a chance to win the entire Charley Davidson series by Darynda
Jones, an ARC of the epic finale, Summoned to Thirteenth Grave, plus
fun swag!

Giveaway Link

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Closing thoughts

Thanks for visiting I hope you had a great visit and learned all kinds of fun stuff about the series and the upcoming final release.  If this is your first time here I hope you will be back!  I post honest reviews of everything I read and every so often I have fun posts like this one to share with everyone. Be sure to check out the all the blogs on the tour as I’m sure there are loads more interesting posts to check out!

~Happy Reading!